Weekly Bites reveals: General Siefried, Daiyusha and World Grand Prix 2018 promotional cards

Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha
Imaginary Gift: Force
CONT [Vanguard Circle]: If its Power is 35000 or greater, this unit gets Critical +1.
ACT [Vanguard Circle] Once per turn: [Cost: Rest any number of your rearguards] Until end of turn, this unit gets Power +10000 for each unit Rested for this cost.

Note that this is altogether different from how the Daiyusha of the original series worked. The original Daiyusha had to meet his power benchmark before boosting, while the new one can reach it after, or even via having trigger effects applied to it.

Image 8: "Uproar!! Q4 vs NwO"
A shop showdown with Team Q4 representing Card Capital and Team NwO representing Voyage begins! The siblings Daimonji Gоuki and Nagisa are up first to face Team Q4.

Animation reference for Team Q4 out of their school uniforms. Note the fanny pack on Aichi.

Japan's Standard-format shop tournament promo for July 1st through 31st is an Origin Rare print of Oracle Guardian Gemini.

Eight new promotional cards will be distributed at in Japan through Special Fight Pack Vol. 1. Fighters will be able to exchange coupons received for participating at shop tournaments from July to September, then exchange them at World Grand Prix regionals for packs. Each pack contains 1 randomized card, with a chance for the card to be printed with a Double Rare foil instead of as a Common. This is similar to the redemption process used for past Spring Fest promos.

Double Rare (right) foiling compared to Common.

Royal Paladin
Holy Disaster Dragon
No Gift
AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard Circles]: When it attacks, [Cost: Put 1 card from hand to soul] this unit gets Power +10000 until the end of that battle.
Eagle Knight of the Skies
AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard/Guardian Circles]: When placed, [Cost: Soulblast 1] this unit gets Power +3000/Shield +5000 until end of turn.

Oracle Think Tank
Battle Sister, Torte
CONT [Vanguard/Rearguard Circles]: During your turn, if the number of cards in your hand is 10 or greater, this unit gets Power +10000/Critical +1.
Goddess of Tolerance, Oomiyanome
ACT [Rearguard Circle]: [Cost: Counterblast 1, retire this unit] Draw 3 cards, and at the end of your turn, discard 3 cards.

Kagerō
Chain-attack Sutherland
CONT [Rearguard Circle]: If you have a "Follower, Reas" on your Rearguard Circle, this unit gets Power +5000, and if you do not, Power -5000.
Follower, Reas
AUTO [Rearguard Circle]: When placed, 1 of your other rearguards gets Power +3000 until end of turn. If that unit is "Chain-attack Sutherland," it gets Power +5000 instead.

Nova Grappler
King of Sword
AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard Circles]: When placed, [Cost: Soulblast 1] 2 of your units get Power +3000 until end of turn. If the number of your units is 5 or greater, they get Power +5000 instead.
Queen of Heart
AUTO [Rearguard Circle] Once per turn: When a Sentinel is placed in your opponent's Guardian Circle, Stand this unit.

Card supplies associated with V-Trial Deck 04: Suzugamori Ren will launch August 10th, 2018. They include Blaster Dark and Suzugamori Ren sleeves, each retailing for 740 yen + tax, and a Blaster Dark deckbox for 600 yen + tax.

Treasured, Black Panther
AUTO [Rearguard Circle]: When it attacks, [Cost: Soulblast 1] you may have this unit get Power +5000 or Power +15000. If it gained Power +15000, at the end of that battle, put this until into your soul.

General Siefried
Imaginary Gift: Force
ACT [Vanguard Circle]: [Cost: Counterblast 1, put 1 of your rearguards into your soul] Search your deck for up to 1 card with the same name as the unit put into soul for this effect's cost, call it to a Rearguard Circle, and this unit and that unit get Power +10000 until end of turn. Shuffle your deck.
AUTO [Vanguard Circle]: When its attack hits, [Cost: Soulblast 2] Stand 1 of your rearguards, and choose 1 of your opponent's rearguards, and retire it.

Note that Siefried's second skill caused some confusion on-stream. Its Japanese wording sounds vague due to literally saying "When attack hits." (アッタックがヒットした時 attaku ga hittoshita toki) The sentence uses a subject-drop rule of Japanese where the subject of the sentence is not stated if it is presumed to be obvious; all cards in Standard format are worded like this to save space, but Doctor O mistakenly skill would resolve when a rearguard's attack hit. He was then corrected--Siefried can only pay his soulblast 2 if his own attack hits. The wording is identical to Dragonic Overlord.

Next week will feature the voice of Inanaga Ichirō and Vanguard evangelist Maeda Seiji as a special guest, and a fight with cards from V-Extra Booster 01: The Destructive Roar.

Episode 8 of Weekly Bites will air Tuesday June 26th, 2018, at 9:00 PM Japanese Standard Time.

Episode 7 of Cardfight!! Vanguard reboot teases 12 new Dimension Police cards

12 Dimension Police units from V-Extra Booster 02: Champions of the Asia Circuit were shown in part in today's episode of Cardfight!! Vanguard. With the exception of the trigger units, the effects given are only partially complete or involve guesswork based on what was shown in the anime.

Dimensional Robo, Goyusha
6000 Power

Because Koutei had 6 cards in his hand on his grade 2 turn after drive checking--2 more than he should have had--Goyusha appears to be the clan's Glyme clone.

Diamond Ace
Draw Trigger
5000 Power, 0 Shield
CONT: Sentinel (You may only have up to 4 cards in your deck with "Sentinel")
AUTO [Guardian Circle]: When placed, [Cost: Discard 1 card from your hand], and one of your units cannot be hit until the end of that battle.

Dimensional Robo, Daibattles
Critical Trigger
5000 Power, 15000 Shield

Dimensional Robo, Gorescue
Heal Trigger
5000 Power, 20000 Shield

Commander Laurel
Grade 1, 10000 shield

Dimensional Robo, Daitiger
Grade 1
8000 Power, 10000 Shield

Dimensional Robo, Daimariner
Unknown

Dimensional Robo, Daibrave
Grade 1, 8000 Power

Dimensional Robo, Daidragon 
Grade 2, 10000 Power
AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard Circles]: When placed, [Cost: Soulblast 1] your vanguard gets Power +5000 until end of turn.
CONT [Rearguard Circle]: If your vanguard's power is 35000 or greater, this unit gets Power +10000.

Koutei uses Daidragon's soulblast twice in the fight, once when riding it and a second time when he rides Daiyusha to reach 35k. Daibrave seems to have a +3k effect, as Kenji's final power after boosting Daiyusha with it is 38k.

Because Koutei has 6 cards in hand on his second turn after his battle phase, either Daidragon or Daibrave appears to have a draw effect. Koutei never declares anything related to Daibrave, but it could be a Circle Magus equivalent. Or Daidragon could have a vanguard draw like Berserk Dragon.

Cosmo Break
Grade 2
10000 Power, 5000 Shield

Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha
Imaginary Gift: Force
13000 Power, 0 Shield
CONT [Vanguard Circle]: If its Power is 35000 or greater, this unit gets Critical +1.

Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyusha
Imaginary Gift: Force
13000 Power, 0 Shield
Skills unknown

Weekly Bites reveals: Aqua Force never sealed in reboot, Daiyūsha key art

Image 7: "Unite!! Team Q4"
Mitsusada Kenji, 3rd place in the Asia Circuit and a member of "Voyage," has decided to participate in a shop showdown. On this day, Mitsusada suddenly arrives in Card Capital.

Key artwork of Mitsusada "Koutei" Kenji and Super Dimensional Robo Daiyūsha, used as reference while animating the 2018 Cardfight!! Vanguard anime. Daiyūsha will be facing off against Miwa Taishi's Hero deck in the new series. Daiyūsha is voiced by Inada Tetsu, voice of Shinjо̄ Tetsu.

In this week's anime Question & Answer section, Vangarо̄-kun explains that the Aqua Force clan was never sealed in this new continuity, so Leon's lineage was never destroyed, and so he was never seduced by Void. This time, Leon was able to peacefully grow with his friends as a Vanguard fighter.

Rather than a "remake," the new series is a "Reboot" which explores a "what if" scenario for various characters. Those familiar with the previous series will enjoy both reuniting with the old cast and seeing how they're changed by this "what if."

News: G-EB01: "Roar of the Universe" Announced, Zeal, Enigman, Dimensional Robo and Metalborg Support Incoming

Six hours ago one of Bushiroad of Japan's associated card shops, Card Kingdom, tweeted early promotional materials for the first extra booster of Cardfight!! Vanguard G, G-EB01: Roar of the Universe (宇宙の咆哮 Sora no Houkou, 宇宙 is normally read as Uchuu "Outer space" but here has the pronunciation for "Sky" Sora forced on it.) According to these first blurbs, the extra booster set will be composed entirely of Dimension Police units from the clan's various subclans, including Dimensional Robo, Zeal, Enigman, Metalborg and new units. Roar of the Universe will introduce stride cards specifically for Dimension Police that all of these decks will be able to make use of. The set will be released on March 13 2015, and will use the now-standard extra booster size of 35 cards, with 3 triple rare, 5 double rare, 8 rare, 19 commons per box and 4 special parallel reprints of cards from the set.

With so many clans to support, G-EB01 is setting up to introduce an eclectic mix of strategies both old and new much like Champions of the Cosmos last year. The revitalization of the Zeal deck has been on fans' wishlist since Dimensional Robos took hold over most of the clan's support, while the Enigmen have remained a long-forgotten piece of Dimension Police history that most cardfighters haven't touched since 2012. With limit break enabler support probable, the usable card pool for the D-Police is likely to be expanded out of its current limitations. And given the recent shift in tone of revival legions towards 2012's limit breaks grade 3s, Zeal himself may find a place in the set as the target of a second revival legion for Dimension Police. While the set blurbs make no mention of crossrides, every booster containing the Dimensional Robo subclan has introduced one since BT08: Blue Storm Armada.

News: Grade 4 Dragonic Nouvelle Vague Revealed in Monthly Bushiroad, New Beginning Sets for Link Joker and Dimension Police Announced

The second issue of Monthly Bushiroad has brought with it an early view of Cardfight!! Vanguard's first grade 4 unit, Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague. As a grade 4 Nouvelle Vague is the face of a new mechanic entirely, bringing with it immense consistency issues by giving another opportunity for gradelock to influence a match, and needing to rework entire deck ratios to compensate for that, but as a reward Nouvelle comes with immense power and supporting units that help mitigate its weaknesses.

Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague
Grade 4/13000 Power/No Shield/Kagerou - Flame Dragon
ACT (V): [Limit Break 4]: [Counterblast 3 and Soulblast 3 and choose a card named "Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague" from your hand, and discard it] Retire all of your opponent's rearguards.
CONT (V): During your turn, the effects of your opponent's Triggers do not activate.
CONT (V): When this unit attacks a vanguard, your opponent cannot call grade 0 units to the guardian circle until the end of that battle.
CONT (R): This unit gets Power -1000.
CONT (V/R): Lord. (If you have a unit without a same clan as this unit, this unit cannot attack)

Originally conceived by franchise creator Itou Akira for Aichi and Kai's climactic fight at the end of the manga's first story arc, Nouvelle Vague (French; "New Wave") as Itou originally envisioned it did not have "Twin Drive!!" but negated all trigger effects during both player's turns. The final version of the card instead retains the ability to check two triggers per turn, and only negates the opponents' triggers, but also only during its own turn and its main advantage is its high defensive base power coupled with preventing the opponent from using most 10000-power shields against it. As Kai used it, Nouvelle Vague did not have a retire skill, but the persona blast on this card is meant to encourage playing it at more than 2 copies as the experimental grade 4 Silvest was commonly played during his time, and EB09: Divine Dragon Progression will also introduce supporting rearguards that reveal copies of Nouvelle Vague already in hand to activate their skills, or return the card to the deck to search for grade 3 or higher units to help prevent the various gradelock issues surrounding it.

Meanwhile, two new Beginning Sets (はじめようセット Hajimeyou Setto) have been announced for Japanese release, VG-HS07: Beginning Set Star-vader Invasion and VG-HS08: Beginning Set Dimensional Brave Kaiser. Based on past trial decks but with additional supplies and promo cards, these are part of regular annual releases made by Bushiroad of Japan to capitalize on the holiday season by providing a gateway for kids and new players to become cardfighters.

Each Beginning Set will come with a 50-card trial deck, 53 card sleeves, a deckholder, fighter's counters to place under cards to show power increases, and RRR prints of three promo cards. VG-HS07 is Link Joker themed, with its sleeves, deckholder and counters based on Яeverse Kai, and Star-vaders Dusttail Unicorn and Lanthanum as promo cards, in addition to a new Link Joker promo that has yet to be revealed. The accompanying trial deck is TD10: Star-vader Invasion, which brings along many essentials for Link Joker cardfighters including the Infinite Zero break ride and Mobius Breath Dragon, units that have become staples of recent competitive decks.

Meanwhile VG-HS08 is based around the Dimension Police clan, with sleeves, a deckholder and fighter's counters derived from Mitsusada "Koutei" Kenji, and Dimensional Robos Dailander and Daiheart promo cards, as well as alternate artwork prints of Super Dimensional Robos Daiyusha and Daikaiser.

The illustrator of these new artworks is Oobari Masami, a celebrated artist who originally designed Daikaiser and performed guest animation for ride 135 of Cardfight!! Vanguard Link Joker. The alternate artworks are full color pieces derived from the episode's ending illustration, showing Daiyusha and Daikaiser shaking hands in front of Mt. Fuji. Both of the new Beginning Sets will be released on December 27th in Japan.

Previously, Beginning Sets HS-05 and HS-06 for Gold Paladin and Shadow Paladin had been announced for a December 12th release, featuring TD08 and TD10 trial decks along with accompanying sleeves and deckholders based on Sendou Aichi and Suzugamori Ren. This is the first year that four Beginning Sets have been released at once. The decision to release HS-05 and HS-06 on the 12th with 07 and 08 on the 27th is likely intended to take advantage of the dual importance of Christmas and New Year's in Japan, as Christmas is the day when children receive presents but New Year's is when they are given spending money to celebrate. Although these sets could have similar impacts on the holiday season abroad, no English-language release dates for any Beginning Set have ever been announced.

News: Fighter's Road 2013 National Championship Decklists, Restricted List to Go Unchanged

The official Japanese Cardfight portal updated with the decklists from the now-complete FR2013 national tournament, Japan's summer championship for this year. The fifth national champion is Pale Moon cardfighter Kokubo Hikaru, who is also the Asia Circuit Memorial Tournament regional champion for Nagoya, having qualified to participate with a Dragonic Descendant deck prior to the card's restriction, and then subsequently abandoned the deck after the institution of the modern restricted list in favor of Luquier “Я.” Fittingly, the runner-up in FR2013 is none other than Uemura Shouhei, the cardfighter who opened this tournament season with his worldchanging Dragonic Descendant build that has defined the Eradicators throughout this season, and Uemura has stuck to the deck since then. The cardfighters who opened the Fighter's Road 2013 national championship have now brought it to a close, and for the first time in Japanese history the national champion is not a Royal Paladin cardfighter. In fact, this is the first time ever that Royal Paladin has not been in Japan's top 3, and in a serious turnaround, Shadow Paladin has grown from being their less successful palette swap into the dominant Paladin deck of the era, surpassing Gold Paladin in sheer numbers and placing in third for the national finals under the command of Hirago Masaki.

Furthermore, a special announcement was made today that the Japanese restricted list will remain unchanged through September. While some were clamoring for additional restrictions to be placed on Eradicator decks, with much attention being put on Cho-ou for how he simultaneously retires the opponent's rearguards and fuels the soul for Rising Phoenix, this decision was likely made in light of Descendant's general decline among Japanese pros following BT12. The rise of Luquier, Nebula Lord, Raging Form and other decks as strong contenders in their own right has deeply upset what was previously a very set-in-its-ways format.

Part of Luquier Reverse's success is owed to her status as a hard counter to Descendant. When using Ionela and Irina's skills, what the Silver Thorn build is really doing is calling two units at once, one to a rearguard circle and another to the soul to store for later. Since the opponent can't retire the soul, cards like Cho-ou and Dragonic Deathscythe that are a strong part of Descendant's early setup fall flat in the long term, as through chainlocking her rearguards in succession, locking 1 to call 1 that she locks to call another, Luquier “Я”'s limit break can let her multiply one card into two, or up to five if she so feels the need to. That kind of strategy may appear overly defensive and not in line with the aggressive format initially, but the Descendant deck relies on the opponent not being able to survive its endgame strategy by swallowing up their hand with Gauntlet Buster or Descendant over two to three turns after taking a field lead. Luquier “Я” doesn't need to call from the hand to call new rearguards after her soul is set up in the early to midgame, so Descendant loses its main feature as Luquier saves up her hand to go for more turns than Eradicator decks can handle.

In the Junior championship, the success of the Dimension Police has already been strongly noted through junior champion Niida Kazuki's explanation of the deck earlier this week. Although Niida was originally shooting for the Doctor O Prize when he created his 15 grade 3 deck, he ended up taking the junior championship trophy unintentionally, using the devastating combination of Enigman Storm's grade security with Daikaiser's break ride to trigger Storm or Daiyusha's skills with Laurel for a self-standing 26000+ power critical 3 vanguard line that used its high grade 3 count to retire perfect defense cards, making certain that the opponent could only guarantee safety if they dropped three perfect defense cards at once against his attack and paid the cost for all of them. Because of its highly aggressive characteristics, the "Crazy Diamond" deck aims to take the opponent to six damage on turn 4, but because of how it is structured the deck also has an endemic weakness in that once the break ride has been triggered and the vanguard is no longer Daikaiser, if the following turn is survived then the game is over for the Dimension Police cardfighter, as there is no safety net or alternative strategy.

Fighter's Road 2013 National Championship, Open Division
National Champion: Kokubo Hikaru/小久保光
Grade 0
x1 Silver Thorn Assistant, Ionela (FV)
x4 Silver Thorn Juggler, Nadia HT
x4 Silver Thorn Barking Dragon CT
x4 Poison Juggler CT
x1 Dynamite Juggler CT
x3 Rainbow Magician DT
Grade 1
x4 Silver Thorn Assistant, Irina
x4 Silver Thorn Hypnos, Lydia
x2 Midnight Bunny
x2 Purple Trapezist
x2 Seesaw Game Winner
Grade 2
x4 Silver Thorn Marionette, Lillian
x4 Silver Thorn Rising Dragon
x3 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Maricica
Grade 3
x4 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я”
x4 Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier

Runner-up: Uemura Shouhei/上村昌平
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x1 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x3 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seioubo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x2 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Third Place: Hirago Masaki/平子真幸
Grade 0
x1 Creeping Dark Goat (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Grim Reaper CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
Grade 1
x1 Revenger of Malice, Dilan
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
Grade 2
x4 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Doctor O Prize: Matsuoka Reishi/松岡怜史
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FV)
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Falcon Knight of the Azure DT
Grade 1
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x4 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
x1 Silver Fang Witch
x2 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 Halo Shield, Mark
x1 Listener of Truth, Dindrane
Grade 2
x1 Lop Ear Shooter
x2 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x4 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
x1 Blaster Blade Liberator
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x1 Mage of Calamity, Tripp
Grade 3
x4 Spectral Duke Dragon
x2 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x2 Steel Spear Liberator, Bleoberis

Fighter's Road 2013 National Championship, Junior's Division
National Champion: Niida Kazuki/新井田和輝
Grade 0
x1 Enigman Flow (FV)
x4 Justice Cobalt CT
x2 Dimensional Robo, Daibattles CT
x2 Army Penguin DT
x2 Gem Monster, Jewel Mine DT
x2 Dimensional Robo, Daicrane DT
x4 Dimensional Robo, Gorescue HT
Grade 1
x4 Enigman Ripple
x4 Daimond Ace
x4 Commander Laurel
Grade 2
x2 Enigman Wave
x4 Operator Girl, Mika
Grade 3
x4 Enigman Storm
x4 Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha
x3 Lady Justice
x4 Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser

Runner-up: Matsushita Shunji/松下隼士
Grade 0
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudas (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x2 Death Feather Eagle CT
x4 Grim Reaper CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
x2 Freezing Revenger DT
Grade 1
x2 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
Grade 2
x3 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Third Place: Funayama Yuiga/舩山唯我
Grade 0
x1 Eradicator, Strikedagger Dragon (FV)
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x2 Malevolent Djinn CT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Pollux CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x4 Sword Dance Eradicator, Hisen
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x4 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
Grade 3
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Doctor O Prize: Haryuu Jin'ichi/針生仁壱
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Seal Dragon, Shading HT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Dobi ST
x4 Seal Dragon, Artpitch DT
Grade 1
x4 Seal Dragon, Flannel
x4 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x3 Seal Dragon, Chambray
x3 Seal Dragon, Rinocross 
Grade 2
x4 Seal Dragon, Hungerhell Dragon
x4 Seal Dragon, Jakado
x3 Seal Dragon, Corduroy
Grade 3
x3 Hellfire Seal Dragon, Blockade Inferno
x4 Seal Dragon, Blockade
x1 Dauntless Drive Dragon

News: Japan's 2013 National Champion is a Pale Moon Cardfighter, Luquier Reverse Takes Summer Cup, Enigman Storm Accidentally Wins Junior Championship

Japan's "Fighter's Road 2013" Summer National Championship just finished over the weekend, and Doctor O has tweeted the results. After the extended reign of Dragonic Descendant, and the rise of Raging Form Dragon and Dudley Emperor, the national finals have concluded with the Open class national champion revealed to be a Pale Moon cardfighter that built their deck around Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я.” Meanwhile the Junior champion is a Dimension Police cardfighter with an innovative Enigman Storm deck, making use of the Daikaiser break ride and a grand total of fifteen grade 3s, much to the shock of Doctor O and the national tournament staff.

The identities of the two champions are presently unknown, in part because so many cardfighters have changed decks in the interim period between the regional qualifiers and the national finals. While it is possible that Luquier's appearance here was in response to her overwhelming success at the unofficial Vanguard Championship held two weeks ago, the time frame between tournaments was very short and the actual VGCS decklists were not published in Japan until the August 7th; if this were the motivating factor, the deck switch would have been a very hair-trigger decision. It is more likely that this is a coincidence, and that the new champion chose to use Luquier “Я” having been motivated by the same strengths as Hibari in that tournament.

The Junior champion's Daikaiser deck was mainly based around the new Daikaiser break ride, with the Enigman cards as a high-synergy framework. While the official decklists are not yet out, the junior champion has already uploaded their decklist to the internet, along with a recap of the events. He attributed the deck's actual creation to his elder brother, but stated that he originally inspired the build by commenting that "If you break rode Enigman Storm over Daikaiser, it'd be really strong right?" Below is a translation of his deck explanation, with the decklist "Crazy Diamond" below.

"No matter how you look at it, the grade distribution is totally different from a normal deck. I went to this number to be able to take advantage of Daikaiser's break ride skill.

Initially it was either 4 Critical 8 Draw or 6 Critical 6 Draw. Lady Justice came from [using her] in Galactic Super Beast Zeal (who I rejected because of the cost.)

For the national championship, I practiced with DOTE, Eradicators (Vowing Saber "Я"), and Link Joker but their condition wasn't good enough.

When Daikaiser's print was presented in Today's Card, the body of the deck was mainly developed by [my brother] ring. (Correction: He developed it when the skill was confirmed in KeroKero Ace, around 8/4.)

At the venue, I brought DOTE, Eradicators and this deck (the completed deck recipe), and after arriving I decided which deck I wanted to use.

The reason I used it was "to have fun while playing."

My goal was to take the Doctor O Prize, to get this deck recipe published on the official website and show it to the whole country, I thought that was possible but it seems that there is no Doctor O Prize for the national tournament, to hear something like that I was a little irritatedw

Also, I don't practice using proxy cards, so it was my first time reading some of these and the cards released between tournaments became an imaginary enemy, in my head I mean.

At the time I began Vanguard I had a goal, to become the national champion and this time it was possible, I am very happy but it feels a little like my feet won't stay on the ground."

Upon becoming champion, he commented on Twitter, "It appears that I've become the Vanguard national junior champion. Deck name is Crazy Diamond. Enigman-based Daikaiser, as constructed by Morikawa-kun." Later on he added "During the deck check, the person on staff performing the check said "15 grade 3s?!" That drew remarks ww" ("ww" and variations on it are an abbreviation for "warau" meaning laughter. It started in Japan and has been compared to the English lol but is more common, and recently English speakers have begun picking it up through exposure to Japanese net culture.)

After being told that Team Caesar would be proud, his father replied, "Thank you very much. This morning, I told him myself. "Congratulations." Listening to that he smiled a little. "But today, Mitsusada was reversed..." (laugh)"

The names of the winners have not been officially revealed, but based on some of his comments the junior champion is being tentatively identified as Niida Kazuki, the current Kanazawa regional champion and a former Kagerou cardfighter known for playing Dragonic Overlord the End. The decklist's name may be a reference to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga.

8/15/2013 Update: The junior champion has been confirmed to be Niida.

Deck Name: Crazy Diamond
Grade 0
x1 Enigman Flow (FV)
x4 Justice Cobalt CT
x2 Dimensional Robo, Daibattles CT
x2 Army Penguin DT
x2 Gem Monster, Jewel Mine DT
x2 Dimensional Robo, Daicrane DT
x4 Dimensional Robo, Gorescue HT
Grade 1
x4 Enigman Ripple
x4 Daimond Ace
x4 Commander Laurel
Grade 2
x2 Enigman Wave
x4 Operator Girl, Mika
Grade 3
x4 Enigman Storm
x4 Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha
x3 Lady Justice
x4 Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser

The strategy of the Crazy Diamond deck is to use the evolving Enigman series to compensate for the high grade 3 count, then use that grade 3 count to trigger Daikaiser's skill in every fight, sometimes multiple times per fight. Since Enigman Flow automatically adds the grade 2 Enigman Wave to the hand when the grade 1 Ripple is ridden over it, Niida would deliberately stay gradelocked at 0 if he had other grade 1s in hand but no grade 2, saving up for the scenario in which he would reliably get to grade 3. Furthermore, Daikaiser's break ride skill would let him come back from virtually any amount of gradelock while also automatically triggering Storm's extra critical. With 15 grade 3s in the deck, Daikaiser would be all but guaranteed to retire the opponent's guardian calls on a vanguard line that was looking to be in the range of 26~28000 power with a critical of 3, dealing 3 damage on-hit after which Commander Laurel would stand the vanguard line that still had 3 critical in addition to its break ride power boost, while giving yet another opportunity for Daikaiser's break ride skill to go off. Perfect defense would not save the opponent because of Daikaiser's guardian retire, and all this was effectively done without triggers. It's easy to see how Niida accidentally won the national championship instead of the Doctor O Prize, as the Enigman cards have not been taken seriously in competitive play for a very long time, setting up his rogue deck to bulldoze over the competition.

News: KeroKero Ace's Final Issue, Extra Booster 7 and BT13 Spoilers, Magus Cards, Nubatama and Dimension Police

The latest and final issue of KeroKero Ace magazine is now out, bringing with it our monthly spoilers for Cardfight!! Vanguard, this time focusing on VG-EB07: Mystical Magus and VG-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak. It was revealed just yesterday morning that KKA will be ceasing publication following this issue, and to cope with that Bushiroad Inc. will be publishing its own monthly magazine starting in September, Monthly Bushiroad. To commemorate the return of the long-awaited Nubatama ninja clan that will be finally completed after a twelve-set hiatus spread out over two years, this issue is being released with a promo print of Stealth Dragon, Voidmaster, Nubatama's first boss card.

Translations of the issue's key cards are below. Most of these were translated by NeoArkadia and FelGrand. Pentagonal Magus was translated by winterhurtz.

7/25/2013 Edit: Nubatama translations revised. Kujikirikongou has the opponent choose the cards to discard and bind.

Oracle Think Tank units
Hexagonal Magus
11000 Power/Oracle Think Tank/Human
AUTO: [Limit Break 4] When another <<Oracle Think Tank>> rides on this unit, look at the top 3 cards of your deck, select one of the cards within and add it to your hand, then return the remaining card(s) to the top of your deck. During this turn, your Vanguard gains Power +10000.
CONT [V]: During your turn, if you have 4 or more cards in your hand, this unit gets [Power]+2000.
CONT [V/R]: Lord.

Pentagonal Magus
Grade 3/11000 Power/Oracle Think Tank/Human
AUTO: [Limit Break 4] When this unit attacks the Vanguard, you can declare the name of 1 "Oracle Think Tank" unit and reveal the Top Card of your Deck. If the name of the revealed card matches the name you declared, during this battle, this unit gets Power +5000/Critical +1.
ACT [V]: [Counterblast 1 "Magus"] Until the end of the turn, this unit gets Power +5000.
CONT [V/R]: Lord.

Note: Pentagonal Magus will be a promo card released with volume 6 of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, and an RR print in VG-EB07: Mystical Magus.

Crescent Magus
Grade 1/Oracle Think Tank/6000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [R]: When this unit boosts an <<Oracle Think Tank>>, you may declare a name of an <<Oracle Think Tank>>. Reveal the top card of your deck, and if it's the card that you have declared, during this battle, the boosted unit gains +3000.

Stella Magus
Grade 2/Oracle Think Tank/9000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [V/R]: [Counterblast 1] When this unit attacks, and you have a <<Oracle Think Tank>> Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, declare a name of an <<Oracle Think Tank>>, and reveal the top card of your deck. If the card revealed is the declared card, you may add it to your hand, if not, return that card to the top of your deck and choose one card in your damage zone and turn it face-up.








Briolette Magus
Grade 2/9000 Power/5000 Shield/Oracle Think Tank/Human
ACT [R]: [Soulblast 1] If you have an Oracle Think Tank vanguard, draw one card, and put this unit on the top of your deck.

Nubatama units
Ashura Stealth Dragon, Kujikirikongou
Grade 3/Nubatama/11000 Power
AUTO [Limit Break 4]: When a <<Nubatama>> Rides this Unit, choose 1 of your Vanguards, it gains 10000 Power, then your opponent chooses 1 card in their hand, discards it, then your opponent selects 1 card in their hand, they Bind it face-down, then when at the beginning of the End of this turn, your opponent adds the Bound card to their hand.
AUTO [V]: When this Unit attacks, if your opponent has 3 or less cards in their hand, this Unit gains 2000 Power during this battle.
CONT [V/R]: Lord

Ashura Stealth Dragon, Kabukikongou
Grade 3/Nubatama/11000 Power
AUTO [V] [Limit Break 4]: [Counterblast 1] When this unit attacks the opponent's Vanguard, you may  pay the cost. If you do, Bind all your opponent's Rearguards face-down. If you bind 3 or more Units, this Unit gets Power +10000 during this battle. During the end of that turn, your opponent returns all the Bound Units to their hand.
ACT [V]: [Counterblast 1] This Unit gains Power +2000 during this turn.
CONT [V/R]: Lord.

Stealth Beast, Kuroko
Grade 0/Nubatama/5000 Power/10000 Shield
AUTO: Forerunner
AUTO [R]: [Soul Blast 1] When an attack hits the Vanguard that this Unit boosted, you can select 2 cards in your opponent's Bind Zone and discard them.

Storm Stealth Rogue, Fuuki
Grade 1/Nubatama/7000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [R]: [Counterblast 1, Place this Unit in the Soul] If your opponent has 3 or more cards in their hand, you can choose one of them at random and Bind it face-down. During the End of this turn, return the Bound Card to the opponent's hand.

Stealth Beast, Tamahagane
Grade 2/Nubatama/9000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO: When this Unit appears in a Vanguard/Rearguard Circle, you can choose 1 of your opponent's Rearguards, Bind it. During the end of the turn, the Bound Card is returned to the opponent's hand.

Dimension Police units
Dimensional Robo, Daimagnum
Grade 0/Dimension Police/5000 Power/10000 Shield
AUTO: Forerunner
ACT [R]: [Place this Unit in your Soul] Select 1 of your <<Dimension Police>> Vanguards, it gains 4000 Power during this turn.

Dimensional Robo, Daicannon
Grade 1/6000 Power/5000 Shield/Dimension Police
ACT: (Rearguard Circle) [Put this card into your soul, and choose one of your "Dimensional Robo" rearguards and put it into your soul] Choose your vanguard with "Daiyuusha" in its name, and it gets Critical +1 until the end of the turn.

Dimensional Robo, Daiheart
Grade 2/Dimension Police/9000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [V]: At the start of the attack step when this unit attacks, if it has 13000 Power or more, this unit gets: "AUTO [V]: [Select 2 Grade 3 "Dimensional Robo" units from your hand, and place them into the Soul] When this unit's attack hits the Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for a Grade 3 "Dimensional Robo" unit, and ride it in <<Rest>> Position. Then, shuffle your deck." until the end of the battle.